Devildriver’s Dez Fafara Ran Away From Home After His First Tattoo

Devildriver / Coal Chamber vocalist Dez Fafara is almost entirely covered in ink, but he’s not finished yet. In this episode of The Needle & the Damage Done, Dez takes us through his collection of flesh art and the stories behind each piece.

This clip was shot on-site at the 2018 Inkcarceration Festival, which was held at the Ohio State Reformatory. The Mansfield, Ohio prison is most famous as the shooting location for The Shawshank Redemption.

Fafara actually ran away from home at age 15 after receiving his first tattoo — a wolf on his right shoulder. “I was in a psychobilly band called the Screamin’ Wolves, I was a stand-up drummer,” Dez shares. “I was going to a Baptist school at the time and [my Mom] pulled the covers off me, told me it was time to go to school and saw that and that was it. I had to run away from home and I left a horrible fucking situation because of that tattoo.”

When asked if any of his tattoos were especially meaningful, Dez pointed out a Paul Booth piece on his left hand. A demonic Jack-o-lantern fills up the majority of Fafara’s hand, with shading going down all the way to his knuckles. The singer actually got the piece the same day as Lynn Strait, not long before the Snot vocalist passed away in 1998.

Check out Dez’s tattoos in the video above and get ready for the 2019 Inkcarceration Festival on July 12-14. Tickets go on sale soon and the 2019 lineup will be revealed in January.